The Engineer and The Hactivist
by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz
Summary: There was always something between them, but it just took a little time for each of them to see it. A 30 day prompt challenge for Skitz. Season 1 AU. Day 30-Future
1. Chapter 1

**So here's the deal. I love Skitz as much as I love Philinda. I've been shipping them ever since Fitz kept correcting himself over the comms and it's been downhill from there. So I took a 30 prompt challenge to express my love for these two, give everyone some Skitz.**

**Each chapter will connect to the one-word prompt in the best way I can. This is also going to be set in a Season 1 AU with no Hydra. Every now and then, I'll throw in a little background Biospecialist, and some Philinda too.**

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**Beginning**

"Hey."

Skye turned around from where she was unpacking her stuff. The cute Scottish boy from earlier was standing by the entrance to her bunk. He was smiling at her, although his cheeks were flushed pink. Skye couldn't help but smile back at him, remembering how he had gotten a little flustered with her a few days ago. If it wasn't for the British girl who he seemed attached to, Skye would have thought that he might have had a crush on her.

"Hi," she said, trying to remember if he was Fitz or Simmons. "You're…"

"Fitz. Leo Fitz," he supplied shyly. "Usually, people just call me Fitz."

"Skye," she told him. Fitz probably already knew that though, considering she'd been part of their last mission.

"Yeah, I remember." Fitz gave her another small smile. He looked adorable when he smiled. "Um, I came to apologize for what I said to you, over the comms…"

"Oh, that!" Skye giggled as she remembered the incident. "Don't worry about it. It's fine. You didn't do anything wrong."

Fitz shook his head. "No, I got really…weird. And awkward too. I'm not a creeper or like that. I just, er, get a little flustered around bea-new people. Yeah."

"Seriously, you're okay. I've heard weirder," Skye assured her slowly reddening visitor. For a moment, she thought he was going to call her beautiful. _"Stop it brain,"_ she scolded herself before returning her attention back to Fitz. "But can I see the thing you were talking about?"

"Wait, my-my equipment?" He stared at her in surprise. "You mean it?"

"Of course."

Fitz grinned happily. Skye decided she liked it when he smiled.

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**So, whatcha think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I hope people enjoyed the first one. This one was a bit hard to do, but I figured it out in the end.**

**A little Biospecialist in this one**

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**Accusation**

"Do you want to tell me something?"

Skye raised an eyebrow as her SO turned around to face her. She'd only come into the kitchen to get some milk. Instead, she found Ward glaring at her with a scowl on his face. "I'm sorry, you'll have to be more-hey cookies!"

She tried to reach around Ward to grab two cookies on the rack behind him. He slapped her hand away, and she recoiled. "What the hell!" Skye exclaimed, rubbing her hand. "Why so moody?"

"I was making cookies, and when they came out, I put them there to cool," Ward stated gruffly. "I went to go and grab a book. When I got back here, I saw that one of the racks was empty. Did you take them?"

"Ohhhh," Skye kept her face straight, which not easy. She realized now what Fitz had been sharing with her. Maybe she could distract him from the missing treats. "Why were you baking cookies in the first place? Were you making them for me?"

Ward's scowl deepened. "They were **not** for you, and it's none of your business to know who they are for."

"Is it Simmons?" teased Skye with a grin. She knew that the specialist had a big crush on the team's biochemist. If anything,they had to be for her.

"That's classified," Ward snapped, but Skye hadn't missed the split second twitch he'd given. "Now stop distracting me, Skye. Did you take the cookies?"

She sighed. On one hand, confessing that she took them would land her with extra stuff to do in the morning workout. But if she ratted out Fitz, then she didn't know how he'd react toward him. Her SO was intimidating enough on his own, but when he was angry? Fitz would probably be on the receiving end of several cold stares that would make him want to curl up in a ball.

Skye nodded. "Yep, you got me," she said. "I took them. I'm sorry, but they were hot and I was hungry. If it make you feel any better, they were good, Ward. You're a surprisingly good baker, and-"

"Fifty extra push-ups tomorrow."

"Right," Skye muttered as she turned around and left the kitchen. Once she was out of Ward's sight, she ran down the hall and the staircase to the cargo bay. As she entered the lab, Skye saw Fitz working on something on his computer. A plate with about six cookies left on it was on the table beside him. He looked up as she entered. "Did you get the milk?"

"No, Ward was in the kitchen," Skye smirked. "Why didn't you tell me Ward was the one who made those cookies?"

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**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This one takes place after The Hub. I really liked that episode a lot because a) Lots of Leo Fitz being a cutie, b) Simmons lying to and then shooting a Hydra agent, c) May doing Tai Chi while Coulson has a one-sided conversation with her, and pretty much everything else.**

**I think a lot of inspiration came from a picture I found on batsonthebrain. It's really cute.**

**The 'Madame du Pompadour' theme is playing as I write this, and even I know what happens in Doctor Who with it, it seems strangely appropriate for this.**

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**Restless**

Leo sat on one of the stools in the quiet lab. He lightly smacked the cap he'd been wearing earlier today against the table with a sigh. He still hadn't changed his clothes since the Bus had picked him and Ward up.

Today, he had almost died. Not from a lab accident, but out in the field. It had been the very last place Leo expected himself to confront death. In his mind's eye, he could still see the line of men advancing at him and Ward and remembered the fear that threatened to swallow him whole. But then the Bus had descended down and they'd been saved. Simmons and Skye had hugged them tightly (Skye almost tackled him with her hug) and he'd been able to remain calm with Simmons as they loaded up the Bus to set out into the unknown once more. Once they had left the Hub though, Leo found that sleep was evading him and decided to go down to the lab to try and work on something. There'd been nothing, and he'd resorted to sitting on the stool and thinking.

His thoughts shifted toward Skye as his elbow bumped the computer mouse. The screen illuminated, revealing the screensaver picture that Skye had set. It had been taken a few weeks after the virus incident. Skye, Simmons and himself were lying underneath a fort they had constructed out of gym mats. Ward was in the background trying to look disapproving, but there was a tiny smile on his face. They hadn't even known he was there until they looked at the photo after taking it.

Leo felt himself smile as his eyes fell on Skye laughing mid-shot. He was glad that she was around. She was a part of their team, and he just couldn't imagine them without her.

He wouldn't be alive without her.

Leo stood up as the realization hit him. Simmons had told him a long and entertaining tale of how she'd shot Agent Sitwell with the Night-Night gun while helping Skye get the information regarding the mission he and Ward had been sent on. Skye had been the one who looked into the mission file and found no extraction plan. She had let Coulson know that they were being left out on their own. Skye had saved their lives.

Leo slid off the stool and made his way upstairs. He needed to find her and tell her how grateful he was that she had helped them. Just as he was about to knock on her bunk, he noticed a bright flannel pattern on the couch. Leo walked over and smiled at the sight of Skye sleeping face down on the couch. Her head was resting halfway on her closed laptop.

Gently, Leo slid the laptop out from under head and set it on the table beside the couch. The he grabbed a blanket and draped it over her.

"Thank you Skye," he whispered to her before shutting out the lights and going to his bunk.

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**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**This one was a bit hard, and the one following was harder, but I think I managed to do something pretty good here. I hope you all like it.**

**Thanks to all those who have favorited/followed/reviewed/read this. You're all amazing.**

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**Snowflake**

"Whoa."

Leo looked toward the cargo ramp as he zipped up his jacket. Skye was already wearing hers, and now stood on the edge of the ramp, gazing up at the clouds. Her eyes were wide in wonder and awe as she stared up at the white powder drifting down to the earth.

"Welcome to Norway," he quipped, moving to stand beside her. "Snows a lot here, I guess."

"I've never really seen it before," Skye said softly.

"What, Norway?" Leo frowned. It didn't surprise him. From what little she'd told him about her past, he could guess that foster homes didn't exactly include international vacations.

She shook her head. "Snow," she told him. "I mean, I've seen pictures, but I've never seen it actually snow in person. It's really cool."

"Well, it is cold out, so that can explain it," he jokes lamely. _"Way to make a fool of yourself."_

However, Skye actually laughed. She stretched out her glove to catch a snowflake. Bringing it back, she studied the little cluster of white fluff. "Is it true that no two snowflakes are alike?"

Leo nodded. "Every single one of them is unique. Kind of like a person."

Skye raises an eyebrow. "Did you just compare a snowflake to a person?" she giggled.

"Yeah," Leo shrugged and chuckled. "Yeah, I…I guess so. I mean, each one is different, and every one of them is special." "_To someone out there."_

"That's really sweet, you know." Skye grinned at him mischievously. "So who do you think will get more pissed if we build a snowman in the cargo bay?"

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**Please review! See you tomorrow!**


	5. Chapter 5

**This might have been one of the hardest ones to fit. I did my best with it, but it was a struggle. I hope you all like the end result! It's sort of post 1x10, like minutes after.**

**Some Biospecialist mentions, and also a little Philinda if you squint really hard.**

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**Haze**

Skye still couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe this had happened, although the flames of the wreckage on the bridge provided enough evidence. The things that had just happened-they didn't feel real yet. It's like she'd seen them through a cloud of smoke, a hazy fog. Her brain felt so muddled and she didn't know how to process it.

The truth was there though. AC was gone, and Mike was dead. She'd heard Ward call in that he had been shot. Simmons currently was panicking about that, the explosion, and everything else. Ace stood beside her, looking shattered. May stared at the sky with a face that promised destruction to the people who had taken their leader. And Fitz…

A solid, comforting arm curled around her shoulder. Skye turned toward him and buried her head against his jacket. She couldn't stop the tears coming as she thought about how she'd just lost the man who was more of a father figure to her than she thought. Fitz just held her gently but firmly, and it made her feel safe. The jacket smelled like him, of metal and the lab and some really good smelling soap. She didn't want to break away from him to face reality. She wanted that hazy fog that's blocking it to stay where it was, because the moment it dispersed, it wouldn't be coming back.

"It doesn't feel real," she cried, her voice slightly muffled by his jacket.

"Like you're dreaming and you just want to wake up and have things be okay again?"

She nodded vigorously against him. What he said described exactly what she was experiencing right now.

"Yeah, me too," he confessed, rubbing her back.

Sucking in a deep breath of air, Skye looked up at him, up at the face that she trusted to the ends of the earth and beyond. The flames made his face appear to be reddish-orange, and his curls looked to have a more brassy color to them. They were standing together on a burning bridge, their boss was missing, a friend was dead, and Skye sort of wanted to kiss him.

But she didn't. It was a wildly inappropriate time in an equally inappropriate setting. May would probably kill her if she even tried. Plus, she had doubts that Fitz saw her in the same way she saw him.

"Do you think he's okay?" asked Skye, wiping her eyes. "He's got to be, right? He's AC, he has to be."

Fitz gave a brief nod. "He came back from the dead, and he can come back from this too," he said as he led her away from the wreckage. "And we will find him."

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**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Another one that I had to think on quite a bit. But I liked how it went. I'm a big sucker for comfort with these two.**

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**Flame**

Leo tossed and turned in his bed anxiously. Sleep was evading him, and the reason behind it had brown hair, a bubbly personality, and the ability to hack into a supposedly secure government organization quicker than he could make a cup of tea. Perhaps a trip down to the lab was what he needed to tire himself out. Simmons would probably chide him for falling asleep in the lab, but at least he could wear his energy out in there by doing something productive. The Night-Night guns could use some more tweaks to them.

With his mind made up, Leo crawled out of bed and slipped out his bunk. As he descended down the spiral staircase, Leo noticed a speck of light. He stopped and leaned forward against the railing, squinting in the dark. It surprised him to see Skye sitting against the SUV. In her hands was a muffin. A lone flame burned on the candle stuck into the treat.

For a moment, Leo considered sneaking back up and leaving her in peace. However, the step he put his foot on creaked. Skye froze at the noise and looked in his direction. "Who's there?"

"It's just me. Just Leo," he called out, making his way down to the bottom. Reaching blindly toward the wall, he flipped the switch for the lights. Both of them flinched at the sudden brightness. Once he had blinked a few times, Leo looked over at Skye. Her cheeks were a little wet, and her eyes were a bit red.

"Hey," she said, her voice slightly hoarse. The candle was burning low, and she blew it out. "Sorry, were you going to the lab?"

"Yeah, that was the plan," he admitted, frowning. "Are you okay? And please don't say yes, because you're crying. Or were crying. I don't know, I just got down here."

Skye snorted. "It's really stupid, just…"

Her voice trailed off, and she looked down at the muffin. "It might be my birthday."

"As in yesterday, or as in today right now. Because it's midnight right now," he babbled, closing his mouth to stop himself.

"Well, since it's midnight, today."

"So why are you down here celebrating alone?" Leo wrinkled his nose at the muffin. "And with a _muffin_, I might add?"

Skye shrugged. "When I was growing up, birthdays were never a big deal," she confessed. "It was just _you're another year older_ and then everyone would move on. I don't even know if today is actually my birthday. They just listed my birthday at the orphanage as the day I got dropped there. I didn't really want to disturb anyone by making a batch of cupcakes or a cake, so I grabbed a muffin and decided to use that as my 'birthday cake'."

Leo felt his heart crumple as she told him this. He walked over to her and took Skye's hand. It was small and soft and fit well in his own.

"It's really early right now, but later in the morning, we are going to celebrate your birthday properly. I'll get Ward and Simmons together and we'll all bake you a cake. And we will even get May and Coulson involved in this."

Skye smiled. "You don't have to do that," she mumbled.

Leo shook his head. "Of course we do," he replied, returning her smile. God, he loved it when she smiled. "If it's your birthday, then we are celebrating it. This team is like a family, and we're not going to forget to celebrate the birthday of a family member."

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**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**And we're hitting the end of the first week on this! I can't believe I've gotten all this response. Thank you all! I wish I'd been able to get this up sooner, but the site kind of crashed and all...**

**To the guest who asked for a drabble about the party from the last chapter-I freaked out for a moment and thought it was this chapter. But I don't have that in my plans. However, I might start a new set upon the completion of this one for other Skitz AUs and prompts. I've got 10 pages worth of prompts, so I'm set people want it.**

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**Formal**

Skye studied her reflection and huffed a sigh. The girl in the mirror was wearing a deep purple strapless dress. Silver bangles lined her wrists, and sparkling crystal pins held her hair back in a bun that Simmons had helped her put up. Mirror Skye looked stunning and gorgeous, which Skye could agree with. However, her reflection looked a lot more confident than she actually felt.

"Why can't you do this?" she whined to Simmons, who came over to fix part of the bun. "Why does it need to be me?"

"Like I've told, and like Agent Coulson told you, there are going to be people there who know me," Simmons reminded her. "I can't just walk up to them and get out the information. It's too risky, and you know I'm a terrible liar. Plus, there's also the small matter of needing to hack into the computer system of the benefactor's office to get the information on the Centipede funding. You're the best hacker we have, Skye, and you know that I am rubbish with computers."

Skye snickered. "You did manage to screw up the ones in the lab with that one DVD you and Ward were watching on your date," she teased, knowing that Simmons was going to react to the use of the word 'date'. Those two thought that people didn't know, but they knew.

"It was **not** a date," grumbled Simmons, crossing her arms. "It was as much a date as what you and Fitz are going on tonight. Why do you keep bringing that up too? I've told you over a dozen times, it wasn't a date. We were just watching a movie together, and that was it, other than-"

A knock on the door cut her off.

"Two seconds!" Skye called, taking the purple clutch Simmons had just passed to her. "How do I look?"

"Gorgeous," Simmons gave her a smile. "He's going to love it."

Skye blushed and muttered a quick thank you to her friend. She opened the door of her bunk to find Fitz standing against the wall. He looked incredibly handsome in his tuxedo in her opinion. His eyes flickered up to her.

"Wow," he sighed, smiling at her. "You look fantastic."

Skye ducked her head and stared at her heels. "You too," she replied. "Are you ready?"

"Yep." Fitz nodded and offered his arm to her. Skye found herself placing her hand on it almost naturally.

Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad mission.

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**Please review! Is there a favorite of the first week?**


	8. Chapter 8

**For those Doctor Who loving people out there, this one's for you guys.**

**For those who have yet to see Doctor Who, Spoilers! *wink***

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**Companion**

"Shut up!" Skye squealed in delight. "You're kidding me, right? You do NOT have one."

Fitz grabbed the remote and paused the episode of Doctor Who right on the Eleventh Doctor throwing the bread and butter out of Amelia's house. He jumped off the couch and ran into his bunk. The two of them had learned that they shared a common interest in the famous show, and had been watching it together twice a week. Originally, the plan was one episode a night, but it had evolved into three episodes, and sometimes an occasionally blast from the past with the classic series.

"Care to change your opinion?" Fitz smirked as he returned and flopped on the couch beside her. He was holding a silver object, on which he pressed a button. The end of the sonic screwdriver raised up, and the end glowed blue. Skye stared at it in amazement, grinning at him.

"Oh my god," Skye murmured, trying hard not to go crazy fangirling over it. "You actually have one. I just wrapped a pen in duct tape and stuck a bead on the end. But that is so cool, especially since it's Ten's."

"Ten was my favorite," Fitz confessed, taking his finger off the button. "He was amazing, and I did not want him to go."

"Not cool, but true," Skye said as he cracked a smile at her joke. "But yeah, I loved him too. He was just THE Doctor. Who was your favorite companion?"

"Of Ten, or all time?"

Skye thought about it for a moment. "All time…in the new series," she added. "I don't know any of the old companions from the classic aside from Sarah Jane."

"Ugh," he groaned, running his fingers through his curls at the agonizing decision. "I'm going with Rose, or Amy. But Rory was great too, even though he kind of came with Amy. He was good, he was faithful, really cared about people. I liked that about him."

"I'm going with Martha," Skye told him, tracing a spiral on her jeans. "She had to deal with a lot, like when the Master took over the Earth or when the Doctor forgot who he was and everything else, yet she powered through it. I'm not bashing on the other companions-they had to go through a lot too. But for Martha, she just overcame it all and still kept on going."

"Kind of like you," Leo replied, tapping her wrist with the sonic screwdriver. "You wanna watch some more?"

"You're really asking me that?" laughed Skye, pressing the play button. But even as Matt Smith drank the bowl of custard, her thoughts remained on Martha Jones. It hadn't just been what she'd told Fitz, but more. Martha didn't get a lot of respect with her teacher at the hospital, and Skye felt common ground there. When she first started out with Rising Tide, it had been the same way. But then a man in a blue box had whisked Martha off to see the stars and planets and all of time and space. Just like the team had taken her in on the wildest ride she'd ever experienced.

She looked over at Fitz and smiled a little to herself, wondering if she'd found her Doctor.

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**Yep, there it is. Hope you guys like it.**

**Also, what Skye did for her sonic screwdriver is what I did for a Halloween costume, but I used a marble.**

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Some more Doctor Who, and also a bit of them being ridiculously adorable.**

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**Move**

"Scooch over a little please," Leo said as he approached the couch.

He hadn't expected to see the hacker lying down and taking up all the space on the couch. In fact, Leo thought that he could just go into his bunk, grab the new DVD, return to the common area, put it in the DVD player, and sit back down in the spot he had been in. Skye appeared to have had other plans.

She pushed herself up on her arms and gave him a sly grin. "And why am I going to do that?"

"Because I asked nicely, and I brought the Doctor." Leo held up the DVD case so she could see it. "Can I sit down now?"

"Mayyyyybe?" Skye teased as he walked over and put the disc in. When he turned around, she hadn't budged. "Maybe not?"

Leo heaved a sigh and shook his head. "Am I going to have to move you myself? Because I can do that."

Skye raised an eyebrow and grinned. It was all the response he needed.

Leo shot over to the couch and dove at the end where Skye's feet were. She squealed as he landed on her feet. However, she pulled her feet out from underneath him and laid them across his lap.

"Your feet, please?" Leo asked, pointing to them.

Skye didn't move, and her grin grew even more amused with each passing second. It was infectious, and Leo couldn't prevent himself from smiling too. He grabbed one of her legs with one hand. "I hope you're not ticklish."

Skye's eyes widened for a second, but Leo started to tickle the arch of her foot. A loud shriek came out of her as she tried to pull her foot away, but Leo held on. Giggling, Skye reached forward and began to tickle him. Soon they were a flurry of limbs, trying to out-tickle one another. Somehow, they ended up falling off the couch and onto the floor next to each other, laughing like lunatics.

"And you complain about me and Grant," Jemma grumbled as she walked past them.

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**Please review! I hope you all enjoyed their cuteness.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Some Christmas cuteness for these two, and a lovely little reminder of Snowflake. Hope you enjoy!**

**Also, I watched_ Not Another Happy Ending_ last night. Excellent movie, and Iain's in it. He's absolutely adorable!**

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**Silver**

"So do you know what you're going to get Skye for Christmas?"

Leo almost dropped the holographic piece that he was working with on the Holotable, but managed to catch it before it reattached to the rest of the machine he was examining. He turned to stare at his best friend.

"What? Why-why do you want to know?" he babbled to her. "Why do you want to know about her? Shouldn't you ask about your own gift? Why are you so curious about what I want to do for Skye? What-"

His rambling was cut off by Simmons cocking her head and giving her a knowing look. Leo sighed and began to turn back to the Holotable.

"You like her, don't you?"

Leo froze for a moment. "That's-that's ridiculous!" he sputtered, shaking his head. "Me and Skye? Simmons, what would make you think that? I don't…we're not…we're totally different people. We would never work, yeah?"

He chuckled weakly and tried to smile while ignoring how hard it had hurt to say those words. Simmons didn't seem fazed though, based on the little smirk that was creeping across her face. Leo sighed and dropped his act.

"But you're still going to get her something right?" Simmons sat down on the stool beside the Holotable.

"'course I am. It's Christmas," he scoffed, sitting down beside her. "I don't know what though. I mean, what do you get a girl?"

"Well, you've done pretty well with me in the past," Jemma teased playfully. Leo looked at her pleadingly. "Oh, I'm just kidding. What you need to do is get her something that's simple, but lets Skye know you care about her."

"Like what?"

Simmons shrugged. "I don't know, that's up to you. Just find a good memory that you two shared together, and build off that. Find something that relates to it."

Leo nodded and Simmons patted his shoulder. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts travel back through the memories he and Skye had shared together. Doctor Who marathons. The undercover mission where they had to pretend to be a couple. Baking her the cake with Ward and Simmons. Building a snowman with her in the cargo bay in Norway. Watching the snow fall…

"I think I've got an idea," he murmured, sliding off the stool and running out of the lab to his bunk to grab his coat.

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"And this one's from me," Leo said, passing Skye the small box wrapped in red paper with a gold ribbon.

Skye smiled and unwrapped it. She opened the box and gasped. "Oh, Fitz."

Reaching inside, she pulled out the necklace with a silver snowflake on it. Skye covered her mouth with one hand and glanced at him with delight. "It's beautiful," she murmured, putting it on. "Norway, right?"

Leo nodded, readjusting his TARDIS scarf that Skye had given to him. Skye crawled off the couch and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Fitz," she told him, kissing him on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."

Leo blushed beet red. "Merry Christmas, Skye," he replied, looking over at where Simmons was sitting beside Ward, laughing about something he had just said. She caught his eye and winked.

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**Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I was really happy to see that people enjoyed the Silver chapter. It was a really cute one. I wish that it had fallen on Valentine's Day, but eh.**

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**Prepared**

Skye sat on the ground outside Fitz's bunk, fingering her snowflake necklace. A few hours ago, Coulson had informed them that Ward and Fitz were going to be sent on another mission together. It wasn't going to be as dangerous as last time, and they would have an extraction plan (Skye had made sure to check). Still, she worried. Ward wasn't just her SO. He was her big brother who looked out for her and made sure she was okay.

And Fitz was…a little more than a friend to her. Skye didn't want to lose him either.

"Hey."

Skye looked up to see Fitz standing beside her. She hadn't even noticed him come out. He was wearing a black fleece and dark jeans, but his kind smile and blue eyes outweighed all the black. Skye pushed herself off the ground and crossed her arms. "Are you ready?"

He snorted. "Simmons has been fussing over me and Ward for hours, Skye. I think we've got everything we'll need."

"No," Skye shook her head. "I mean, are you ready to do this. Again."

"Oh," Fitz paused. "No."

Skye looked at him with surprise. She hadn't been expecting him to say that. She hadn't known what to expect in the first place though either.

"I might be afraid, but I'm still going in anyway. I can't let Ward go in alone," continued Fitz as he took her hand. "He needs my help with this, and I can't let fear hold me back."

Biting her lip, Skye flung her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Please come back," she told him. Fitz had to come back. If he didn't…Skye didn't want to think about that possibility at all.

He gave her a reassuring smile as they pulled back from each other. "I will, I promise," he said. "I'm not prepared to die yet. Not for a long time."

Just then Ward and Simmons exited the latter's bunk. Skye smothered a grin at the little smear of lipstick on Ward's face. He murmured a quick goodbye to Skye and headed toward the cargo bay. Fitz followed him. Just before he disappeared out of her sight, he turned around and gave her one last smile.

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**I hope you all enjoyed this one. Tomorrow will be taking us to the aftermath of Seeds.**

**Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Post-Seeds. I hope you guys enjoy this one. Tomorrow is going to hurt really really bad. I cried while writing it.**

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**Knowledge**

"The Academy's pretty awesome, I'll give you that," Skye was saying as she swiveled back and forth on one of the stools in the lab. "Bet it must have felt amazing when you learned that you got into there."

Leo offered a weak smile to her. Reaching for the remote, he turned off the news report playing on the television about the sudden freak storm that had hit the area around the Academy. They were back on the Bus, heading back to who knew where. He was still in shock about Donnie, and what had happened with him. Seeing that happen to someone who practically a younger version of himself, it made him shudder to think about what he would have become without Simmons's friendship. You never realized how thankful you were for something until you saw you saw yourself without it.

"It was pretty good," he confessed, deciding to leave out the part where he'd fainted in bliss when he was told that SHIELD Academy was opening their doors to him. "How about you? When Coulson said you could join us, how did you feel?"

Skye's face fell, and immediately Leo regretted his question.

"It used to feel like I was doing the right thing," Skye said glumly. "But now, it's like I've cheated. I told this to Ward, and he basically said I did. And after seeing you and Simmons just being those people that everyone loved, it made me feel stupid. I thought I was good at something, but now I don't even know if I'm smart enough to be here."

Leo bit his lip. He felt terrible about how he hadn't stood up for Skye that morning when Simmons was implying that she could only get into Communications. The two of them had been so excited about visiting their alma mater and gotten too focused on it. Sighing, Leo reached out and rested his hand over Skye's.

"You might not be as smart as most Sci-Tech students," Leo said to her. "But that doesn't mean you aren't smart at all. You know a lot. Skye, you can hack the FBI in minutes where it takes most of those students three times as long. You can relate to people and find out who they are, what they are thinking, what they are going through. When Agent Hand threw you off the Bus, you didn't give up on finding Coulson. You used your brain and your wits and you were the one who brought us to him and got him back. If it had been me who'd been on my own, we wouldn't have been successful. Believe me Skye, you are smart. You just have a different kind of knowledge than the rest of us. Your way into SHIELD might have not been like everyone else's, but you've proved yourself a true agent so many times that your origins don't matter."

Skye looked up at him with a small smile. "Do you really mean that? All of that?"

Leo nodded. "Of course I do."

Skye hopped off the stool and ran around to where he was standing on the other side of the table. She threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Fitz."

His heart beat a little faster at her touch. "Anytime," Leo replied as he returned the embrace.

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**Please review! And prepare happy fluff to read for tomorrow!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I apologize in advance for making people cry before Valentine's Day. It's post TRACKS/early TAHITI with a little canon divergence. There's a little tie in to the first chapter of another Skitz story of mine, Nightmares.**

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**Denial**

It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true. It had to be a lie. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true.

Leo buried his head in his hands, clenching his curls roughly. He was sitting in the waiting room with the team at the SHIELD hospital that they'd rushed Skye to after she'd been…

"_It's your fault,"_ he told himself angrily. _"You took the easy job, and let her go in alone. Why didn't you go after her? Why didn't you run in when you heard the shots? Why didn't you do anything?"_

Through the cracks in his fingers, he saw a nurse approach the team. Leo stood up immediately after Coulson, feeling a range of emotions course through him. He was still wearing the same clothes that he'd been on the mission in, and had slept in them during the flight. The rest had only opened his mind to a series of horrific nightmares that all involved him trying to save Skye in various circumstances, but failing every time. He'd woken up in a cold sweat, and prayed that she would be saved.

All his prayers came crumbling down as soon as the words 'life support' left the nurse's mouth.

Leo felt himself block out the rest of the conversation and sank back into the chair he had been in. In front of him, Coulson was staring blankly at the space where the nurse had been before she left. The senior agent was pale, and looked as though he couldn't comprehend the events occurring either.

May's fists were clenched so tightly that the skin was white. Without warning, she stormed out of the room with what looked to be actual tears in her eyes. A few seconds later, a loud crash came from around the corner, as if something had been pushed over. No one made a move to go see what it was though. Leo had a feeling that going after her right now would only be a good idea if he wanted to get hurt.

Simmons had her arms curled in tight at her sides and was huddled beside Ward. The specialist had his arms around her like he wanted to protect her from the world if it came crashing down on them. Both of them looked as though they were already at Skye's funeral. Leo looked bitterly at them. They had each other, and May and Coulson had clearly some past together. But he was alone now. He had no one. His insides felt dead and empty. It was like someone had ripped chunks of his identity from him.

There was no way he could lose Skye. She was the heart of them all, the one who saw things different from the true blue SHIELD way. Skye brought life and light to the team in ways no one else, especially himself, ever could. She had been their missing puzzle piece to making them a complete, whole, functioning unit.

Ward's stone walls that shielded him from the rest of the world cracked to let Simmons in and opened him up to the rest of the team because of her.

Jemma found a friend who would watch chick flicks with her without complaining and talk about girly things with because of her.

Even though they weren't biologically related (although he still questioned it a lot), Coulson and May had found a daughter because of her.

Leo had found someone who he cared about in ways he never thought were possible because of her.

It was because of Skye that they were united. There was no way that this bubbly, positive girl in plaid shirts who could hack just about anything, who couldn't do a Scottish accent to save her life, who saw the good when no one else could was so severely injured. Leo just couldn't believe it.

He stood up and shuffled over to Coulson. "Can I see her?" he asked. "Please?"

Their leader looked older than ever as he faced Leo and gave him a small nod.

They left Ward and Simmons to comfort each other and walked down the hallway where the hospital rooms were. A nurse standing nearby directed them toward Skye's room. As they entered, Leo's breath caught suddenly in his throat when he saw the tube in her mouth and the paleness of her skin.

In that moment, he collapsed against the wall and started sobbing. There was no more denying it when it was right there in front of him. He didn't go after her; he didn't have her back in that mansion. Quinn had shot Skye because he hadn't gone in with her. Now the girl he loved was possibly going to slip away from him forever.

Coulson's hand felt like a lead weight on his shoulder. Leo wiped his eyes and looked over at him to see the other man crying as well.

"We'll find a way to save her," Coulson promised him as he led Leo from the room.

Leo nodded in affirmation. Earlier in the day, he was actually happy about the mission. He and Skye were pretending to be a dating couple on a six month anniversary trip. They'd bonded well, and it all felt like a wonderful dream that he didn't want to wake up from.

Right now, a dream was Leo wanted all this to be.

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**How is everybody's hearts?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hopefully, everyone's doing better after yesterday. It's the end of the second week on this, and in the next their relationship is going to evolve a little more.**

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**Wind**

For the longest time, Skye had felt like a leaf. Ever since she could remember, she'd been tossed from place to place, just like a leaf when the winds kicked up.

No one ever really wondered where leaves went. They were something that quite literally blew by people. One moment they were there, and the next they were gone, headed off to some unknown destination. Some people wondered, but most people ignored the leaves.

That had been her life, moving all around with no plans, or even a final destination in mind. It had been a lonely life, punctuated here and there by interesting events. Rising Tide, Miles, New York, and a few other places stood out. After arriving at SHIELD and then joining the organization, Skye had wondered how long it would be before the wind picked back up again to carry her away.

"If you could control one element, what would it be?"

Skye looked over at the chair where Fitz was sitting. He was holding one of the magazines that she'd gotten from Simmons to keep herself occupied in her little portable hospital room. Fitz had been gracious enough to spend time with her as she recovered from her near-death experience. Even if he was giving her silly little magazine quizzes, the fact that he was voluntarily giving up his time to sit with her made Skye feel a lot better.

"Does not screwing up everything count?" she muttered dryly, scratching the back of her hand with the monitor on her finger.

Fitz lowered the magazine. "You don't screw everything up, Skye," the engineer responded. "Just because something goes wrong doesn't mean it's your fault."

Skye shrugged. Somehow, no matter how horrible she felt about herself, Fitz found a way to make her feel better. He was always there for her, no matter the situation. It was one of the things she loved most about him. If only she could tell him, and if only he felt the same way. But he was clearly in love with Simmons. Nothing could break the bond those two had. (Although Ward and Simmons were clearly…something)

"You did nothing bad, Skye," continued Fitz. "You always have a good goal in mind when you set your heart to something. You put everything you can into it, and it's admirable. Not everyone can be like that, like you."

"Wind," she answered quietly.

"Huh?"

"The question you asked," Skye explained. "I want to control the wind."

She'd blown around for so long, never knowing where she was going.

Maybe this leaf had found its final destination.

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**Please review**


	15. Chapter 15

**Another day, another drabble. I can't believe I'm at the halfway point! Tomorrow things will begin to kick up. Actually, next week gets pretty exciting, and definitely AU!**

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**Order**

"Not there!" Leo cried out as he grabbed the rest tube from Skye. "That's not where it goes!"

Skye huffed and rolled her eyes. "Why not? It's just a test tube."

"No, it's one of _Simmons's _test tubes," Leo replied, pointing to the rim of red glass at the opening of the test tube. "This one goes in a different cabinet."

"Why though?" Skye crossed her arms and looked at him questioningly as he went to go put the test tube in the correct cabinet. "Why do you even need color-coded test tubes in the first place?"

"Because when something comes in, Simmons and I don't always have time to look at the colors on the rims to see if they're the right ones," he explained to her. "By putting them in the correct cabinets, we know which ones are the ones we need."

"That doesn't answer my second question. What's the difference between using one with a red rim and one with a green rim? Or even a blue one"

Leo sighed. "Blue is mainly for chemicals. Green is used for samples we take from the surrounding environment, like plants and soil and such Red is what Simmons uses for human biological samples."

"So like blood and other stuff from people?" Skye paused and pursued her lips. "So you use this system to make sure you're grabbing whatever chemical you've got cooking instead of a test tube of blood or something."

Leo nodded. "Exactly. Now let's get the rest of this cleaned up."

He walked back over to the sink with Skye and turned on the water. "Pass me something to clean."

"Is that an order?" She teased, handing him a beaker.

"You wanted something to do," Leo chuckled as he began to scrub it down.

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**Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A little more evolution to the relationship. I hope you all enjoy!**

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**Thanks**

"Skye?"

Jolted out of her thoughts, Skye turned around in her chair. Fitz was standing in the doorway at the end of the room. He was still a little white-faced, but not as pale as he'd been in the afternoon.

Earlier that day, the team had been sent in to bust up a Centipede lab. Everything had been going according to plan. Skye had gone in alongside Ward, Coulson, and May. Fitz and Simmons were monitoring the situation from inside an armored car. One minute, everything was fine. Then the sound of metal ripping came through the comms, and all communication went dead. Everyone had stopped short, especially her and Ward.

She'd ditched the rest of the group in search of Fitz and Simmons. They were pretty much done with flushing out Centipede, and Skye was determined to get to them no matter what still stood in her way. Two flights of stairs going down later, she came across them in the bowels of the building. A supersoldier was dragging them along. The panic in Fitz's eyes chilled her heart, and she fired the Night-Night gun twice at the capturer without a second thought. He'd hit the ground like a stone, and a small click followed.

For a few seconds, they all just stared at the dead man. Then everyone else came crashing in and hurried them out. Fitz and Simmons had been taken to medical to get checked up. Skye hadn't seen them since then. It had felt like days, even though it was simply mere hours.

"Hey," Skye stood up and gave a him a smile. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Fitz nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Simmons was getting fussed over by Ward. I felt a bit awkward there, especially when he was telling her he didn't want to lose her, so I left."

"And came to find me?"

He nodded again. "I wanted to say thanks. For what you did today. It was really brave, and you saved me."

"Just repaying the favor," _"And I couldn't bear to lose you"_ she added mentally before continuing. "You did get the GH-325 to me, which pretty much is why I'm still here today. I guess I owe you thanks too."

Fitz smiled. "You know, you can call me Leo if you want."

"Seriously?" Skye had never heard anyone call Fitz by his first name. Not even Simmons, his best friend.

"Yeah, seriously," he said. "You can."

Skye felt herself trying hard not to blush. "Thanks…Leo."

His name felt so right on her lips.

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**Please review! A bit o' Philinda tomorrow!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A bit of Philinda in this. I'm also watching Stardust right now too, so there's that.**

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**Look**

Leo frowned at her. "Why?"

Skye sighed and strolled over to where the engineer was tinkering with an ICER. She couldn't resist letting him miss out on this. "Just come with me," she begged. "You need to see it with your own eyes."

Leo set down the device. "Just tell me why you're so excited?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

With a roll of her eyes, Skye grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the lab. She didn't fail to notice how warm and strong it felt. How her own hand felt tingly as it held his. She tried to push those thoughts aside, but that was becoming harder lately. Why did she have to fall in love with someone who could never return her feelings?

Life really liked to stick it to her.

As they approached the living area of the Bus, she turned around and put a finger to her lips. Leo nodded and mined her action. Skye smiled at him and led him around the corner to where the couches were, remembering how they'd watched the last David Tennant episode of Doctor Who there earlier in the afternoon. Right now, _Stardust_ was playing with the volume turned down a little lower than normal. Leo turned to her confused.

"I mean, it's a great movie, but it's almost over and I didn't even get to see the first part-"

"Look!" She hissed, cutting him off and pointing to the couch.

May and Coulson were curled up beside each other, fast asleep. Coulson's arm was draped around May's shoulders, and the pilot's head rested against his chest. Skye was glad they hadn't waken up. They were actually cuter now than they were a few moments ago.

Looking back at Leo, Skye saw that his face had softened from confusion into a dreamy expression. Closing her eyes, Skye allowed herself to picture her and Leo sleeping like that on the couch.

Opening her eyes, Skye gave a gentle sigh. "Aren't they cute."

His hand gave hers a squeeze. "Yeah," he murmured. "They really are."

Skye hadn't realized that she was still clasping Leo's hand. After he squeezed it though, she didn't plan to let it go for a while.

**Promised cute Philinda, and I hope I delivered. Same thing goes for Skitz.**

**Please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Another hard one. I had to think a lot on this one. Hopefully I came through.**

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**Summer**

"Innnnn summerrrrrrr!" Skye sang, spinning around in the easy chair.

As predicted, Leo clasped his hands over his ears and groaned. "Is this a plot to kill me?"

Skye looked at him with mock horror. "How can you not love that song?" she cried, jumping off the chair. Her first few steps were a bit wobbly from all the spinning. Leo put an arm on her shoulder to steady her. "Thanks."

"No problem," He mumbled. "But that song really is annoying."

"Why?" Skye asked. "Do you have problems with adorable talking snowmen? Because I'll tell you, Ward and Simmons do."

"They have problems with all movies," Leo remarked. "Do you remember the time we watched _Moonraker_ with them?"

"Oh god, you know we don't talk about that." Skye all too well remembered that night. The couple kept making comments about how unrealistic the movie was. She and Leo had gotten so fed up that they began to throw popcorn at them every time Ward or Simmons opened their mouth to complain about something. Eventually they started to throw it at each other after Ward had threatened extra pull-ups for her. "But what's your problem with that song?"

The curly-haired engineer sighed. "He's so naïve. He doesn't realize that he's going to melt when it gets warm out. It makes me sad then, thinking about how quickly something can be lost once the seasons change."

"Oh." Skye looked down at the Holotable. When she thought about it now, especially in that way, the song lost some of its cuteness. "So it's **not** because you don't like Olaf?"

"I actually like Olaf," Leo admitted with a nod. "He's got a big heart, if he's got one. He was willing to melt away so Anna could warm up. Some people really are worth melting for, and it makes me think about what's important to me. That's why I like him."

Unable to hold back, Skye threw her arms around him. Leo was so sweet and kind and could pull the most meaningful things out of simple stuff. She wondered if she could ever get up the courage to tell him one day that he was worth melting for.

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**Tomorrow, more Leo pep talks.**

**Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**This prompt, as well as the next, were written before the winter finale. It made me a little upset, but eh. Still made something pretty good.**

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**Transformation**

"You can do this," Leo told himself as he approached Skye's bunk. The door was open, and he could see Skye sitting inside. Her new SHIELD badge was open, and she was staring at it proudly. Raising his fist, Leo knocked on the side of the door.

At the noise, Skye lifted her head and smiled at him. "Hey, Leo."

Every time she called him by his first name, a warm feeling rose up inside of him, and it was impossible to stop the smile from breaking out on his face. "Congratulations, Agent."

"Thanks," Skye mumbled, ducking her head. Leo could see her cheeks reddening. "It's been a crazy journey. That probably shouldn't surprise me, considering it's SHIELD, leader in all things strange and impossible."

He chuckled a little at her remark. "Still the same sassy hacker we picked up, huh?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Skye's smirk faded. A shadow of worry came over her face, and her hand clenched around her new badge. Leo pressed his lips together, regretting his comment.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"Was it really so long ago?" Skye murmured, gazing up at him. Her beautiful brown eyes were clouded with concern and doubt. "A few months ago, all I cared about was spreading secrets and finding out who I was. Now I'm keeping the secrets, and it's to protect others. I just…"

She trailed off, looking back down at the badge again.

"You feel as if you wouldn't recognize yourself if you saw yourself back then, right?" Leo asked. Skye nodded, and he stepped inside. "Like the old you has been transformed into someone new, wiped away forever. That's how I felt, how I still feel sometimes."

Skye nodded again. She shifted over on her bed, patting the space beside her for him to sit down.

"I'm scared," she confessed as he lowered himself down next to her. "I don't want to be destroyed by SHIELD. Ward, I mean he was already pretty rigid. But the night that the Bus went down and the power went out, Coulson told me about May. He said before Bahrain, she was like me. Then it happened to her, and you know what she's like now. I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want something really bad to happen and transform me into someone who I can't even recognize."

Leo put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. He took a deep breath, thinking carefully about what he was going to tell her.

"SHIELD does change you a lot, that's true. I see it all around me, and I wonder what they were like before all this. But I believe deep down, the person they used to be still exists. No matter where life takes you or what it makes you, the old you is never gone. I still see that sweet, funny, beautiful hacker who got Agent Grant Ward to say Gramsy in you, Skye."

Skye snorted a laugh. "You really mean that?"

"Yeah," Leo said, giving her a one armed hug. "Trust me, I see her every day."

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**Tomorrow, the real clincher in setting this on an AU path. It's minor to Skitz, but it plays a bit of a role too.**

**Please review.**


	20. Chapter 20

**The day I wrote this, I had a massive panic attack, and in an attempt to calm myself down, took to writing. This was the result.**

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**Tremble**

"No," Skye cried, running from the room. "No no no no no no no no no!"

Behind her, she heard May and Coulson calling out her name, but she wasn't going to turn back. All the information she's learned minutes ago rattled around inside her brain. After so long, she'd finally gotten the truth about her parents. How they'd been right in front of her for months and had said nothing to her until she'd stumbled upon a piece in May's file regarding a suspiciously long vacation occurring at the same time as Coulson's around the time she was born. Skye had decided to ask them about it, and pressed them for an explanation when they began to get skittish.

Once she was in the cargo bay, Skye wrenched open the SUV door and scrambled inside, curling up in the back seat. Her breathing began to speed up and grew more ragged. The interior of the van felt as if it was going to get smaller any second, but she didn't want to leave. This was supposed to be her happy place, why wasn't it helping?

Tears began to pour down her cheeks and Skye felt herself begin to shudder. _"No, not now,"_ she thought distantly. _"Please not now."_

"Skye?" Leo's head peered into the open door of the SUV. Skye gave a strangled gasp and curled up tighter, feeling her panic attack getting worse. She didn't want him to see her like this, and then have him judge her later. Her body trembled more, and Skye hid her face, trying to calm herself down.

It wasn't working. Her chest began to feel tight.

"Skye, what's happening?" She could barely hear him step inside. Her thoughts were loud and roaring, like a tornado scooping up all the bad buried memories and flinging them back to the surface.

"_Do you really have the guts to pull the trigger?"_

"Skye, please look at me." Leo sounded concerned, and it was only driving up her fears.

"_All you do is talk, and talk…"_

"_Stop lying!"_

"Skye, focus on me." He sounded as though he trying to remain calm too. "Stay with me."

_Simmons on the ramp._

_Mike on the bridge._

"Skye, you're going to hurt yourself if you don't stay with me," Leo urged gently. "Listen to my voice, okay? Focus on me. Breathe with me. Think of something that makes you happy."

_Purple. Her hula girl. That pink dress she'd worn on her mission to Malta…_

"_Desert Rose, to match your complexion."_

She felt herself begin to come back a bit from the void threatening to swallow her up. Her breathing was growing less frantic.

"That's it," Leo assured her, lightly rubbing her back in a comforting way. "Stay with those happy thoughts. Keep holding onto that one point that makes happy. Something that's always there when you need it."

_Her laptop._

"_When you get back, I'll show you my thing…"_

Skye felt the trembling slow down more.

"…_a thing, it's my hardware…"_

"You're doing great, Skye," Leo murmured. "Just keep breathing."

"_My equipment!"_

Skye started to sit up. Leo was sitting beside her, still rubbing her back.

"_Be careful, okay?"_

"_Kind of like we do."_

He gave her a small, warm smile. Skye couldn't see any form of judgment in it at all, and it calmed her even more to see that. She leaned back against him.

"You're safe, okay?" Leo whispered to her, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, Skye. Whatever's going on, I'll be there if you need help to work it out. Just take all the time you need right now. I'm not leaving until you're ready to go, alright?"

Skye nodded and exhaled shakily, curling closer beside him.

"Thank you, Leo," she murmured gratefully.

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**Well, a happy-ish ending. Please review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Another day, another drabble. We're going down on the final ten, guys!**

**Shout-out to erburnham02 for sending me fluff a long time ago that helped inspire me for this. It was gorgeous and I loved it so much! Thank you!**

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**Sunset**

"It's amazing out here tonight," Skye sighed dreamily from outside.

Leo felt the urge to go outside and see what exactly Skye was admiring. At the same time, the poker game he was playing with Ward and Simmons was promising a very nice victory for him, and a defeat of the specialist was something he'd wanted since he'd folded in the game post-Amador mission. His latest method of getting over his hopeless growing crush on Skye was avoidance.

Simmons cleared her throat loudly. Leo looked up to see her and Ward glaring at him. Simmons jerked her head toward the porch of the beach house. The team had taking a week-long vacation so Skye could get to know her newfound parents better. Turned out that May and Coulson were actually Skye's parents, and they had been the reason for her panic attack in the SUV.

Jemma coughed a little louder, but Leo told himself to stay firmly in his seat. If he stayed in his seat, he would not babble like an idiot and embarrass himself.

"Fitz!" Simmons hissed, kicking him in the shin.

Ward was giving him a look that told him not to keep antagonizing Simmons. Wanting to avoid the specialist and his angry face, Leo folded quickly and walked out onto the porch. Skye was sitting on the railing, legs swinging back and forth as she gazed out at the ocean. Looking out in that direction, he could understand why it was so amazing. Sunset had changed the sky into a blend of orange and pink and yellow. It was as beautiful as the girl sitting on the railing he was now leaning on. The beautiful girl whose smile was as radiant as the sun itself.

"Hey," she greeted, flashing the smile at him.

Leo nodded in response. "Sky's gorgeous tonight," was all he could come up with.

Skye turned around and hopped off the railing onto the porch beside him. She copied his stance, leaning against the railing. "It really is incredible," she agreed dreamily.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling wistfully to himself.

But the sky above him wasn't the only one he was talking about.

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**Please review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**This and tomorrow are a two part thing. Today works out tomorrow-wow that's confusing. Hopefully you guys understand that.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Mad**

"Skye, you just need to calm down," Simmons told her as she continued to pace back and forth frantically. "I'm sure they're fine."

"How would you know!" Skye snapped. "The line was cut off. Something bad might have happened to them?"

Her father had gotten a call for a new mission a few days ago. Originally, it had just been May and another agent, Trip. Then Leo was added to the roster, because they needed his help with identifying some weapons that had been disappearing recently or something like that. Apparently, they were similar to something he once built. Skye had already been worrying enough about her mother, since the region was a turbulent military zone. Throwing Leo into the mix made her fears worse. Her dad had told her that it was going to go smoothly, but it did little to alleviate her worries.

Up until now, Skye had been fine at managing her concerns, and always was present for every scheduled call-in they'd made in the past two days. But three hours ago, the call was cut as soon as May had finished giving the response code. Skye wanted to try to call back, but both her father and Ward vetoed the idea. It was unsafe, they told her, because an unexpected call could jeopardize them. It was like Ward and Leo's mission all over again, the familiar spiral of concern that she was going down. At least they were on the Bus, and Ward was sticking with Simmons, and also a bit with her. Mainly for Simmons though.

"What if something really bad happened to them?"

"Skye," Ward warned, giving her a stern look. "You need to stop worrying about this. May and Trip are both capable agents. They can keep each other and Fitz safe."

"STOP WORRYING!" Skye bolted out of the chair she'd sat down in a moment ago and marched over to her SO. "Look her, T-1000, I know that you're Mr. Everything-is-going-to-work-out, and you know what, that's fine. But it's been three hours, and they haven't called in. My mother is out there, and so is Leo, and Trip too! What is something's gone wrong? What then? Tell me, Ward. What. Then."

"Skye, stop," Simmons placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you're upset about Fitz, and I get that you're mad, but don't take it out on Grant. Just tell me why you're afraid of something bad happening to them."

Skye's shoulders slumped as the biochemist's words hit her. She looked at Simmons.

"I don't want to lose him," she admitted, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "I can't lose him."

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**Please review! It'll be resolved tomorrow!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Part two that continues from yesterday. All gets resolved!**

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**Thousand**

16 hours, 36 minutes. That was how long Leo's watch said it had been since May, Trip, and him were extracted from their mission. 996 minutes since they'd been taken to the nearest SHIELD base, given medical treatment, and told that their team was on the way. According to Agent Blake, 'that one hacker girl' had been pretty pissed that they'd been gone so long. May had cracked a smile at that.

Their mission to go scope out a weapons deal while posing as potential buyers had gone well for the first two days. Then they'd received orders to break into one of the storage units and dig a little deeper. One of their check-ins coincided with that, and they stopped at what they thought to be a safe place to make the call. As soon as May had finished giving the return code, their phone had gotten hit by a bullet. The bullet seemed to be more specific for electronic neutralization, which had effectively ruined the phone. That was the least of their problems, as the owners of the storage unit began to fire at them. Luckily, May, Trip and Leo managed to get out in enough time.

They found their way to the extraction point the day after the phone was hit, arriving at the scheduled time with mere seconds to spare. That had been 16 hours and 38 minutes ago. All of them had inflicted injuries in some way. May was the least hurt, with just a few scrapes, cuts, and bruises. Trip had taken a bullet to the shoulder, which thankfully hadn't gone in too deep, and a nasty gash on his leg. Leo ended up with a broken arm after diving behind some crates during the escape from the storage unit while avoiding a stun grenade. Medical had looked them all over and ordered them to spend a night for evaluation.

999 minutes.

The door opened up and Coulson entered. May stood up and rushed into his arms. Leo looked down at his feet as the two engaged in a passionate kiss. Trip smirked a little.

"I understand why you were so angry when I didn't make the call time in Cairo," Coulson quipped once the two had broken away for air.

"Mm, about time," replied May, glancing over his shoulder. "Where's Skye?"

"Leo!"

The doors swung open again as Skye came barreling into him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, and he gasped a little in surprise at the suddenness of the embrace.

"Oh my gosh, you're okay," Skye whispered in relief. "I was so worried about you. I was afraid you weren't gonna come back."

"I'll always come back, Skye," Leo reassured her, peering down at his watch.

16 hours and 40 minutes since his rescue.

1000 minutes.

It had taken 1000 minutes for him to be reunited with the girl he loved since the extraction.

If he ever did this again, Leo hoped it would be half that time, or even less.

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	24. Chapter 24

**This one's an okay one. Tomorrow's probably a favorite of mine. This last week, a lot of fun things will happen!**

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**Outside**

"What do you think you'd be if you weren't a part of SHIELD?" Skye asked as she entered the lab.

Leo set his current project to the side, flexing his sore fingers. He'd been in the cast for two weeks, and it was driving him crazy. Leo had already broken his arm when he was younger, and the time spent wearing that cast had driven him stir-crazy. His poor parents could barely contain his hyperactivity that resulted from him being kept cooped up at home so long with nothing to do.

"What's your reason for the question?" he said, coming around the side of the lab table.

Skye shrugged. "Dunno, just curious," she answered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Also I overheard Simmons and Ward talking next door in her bunk, and then I left when I realized what it was."

"What do you-ohhhh," Leo nodded as it hit him. "Um, so what I'd be if I wasn't with SHIELD?"

"Yep."

"Probably would have been a professor at a university, maybe working as a scientist for a government organization like SHIELD," he shrugged. "How about you?"

"What I was doing before SHIELD," Skye grinned at him. "Hacking, maybe getting a job at a café. Not as much as I'd be doing now though."

"You know when I think about it," Leo paused. "if I hadn't gone to Sci-Tech when SHIELD invited me, I would have never met Simmons at all. I never would have gone onto the team, and I never would have met you. Which would stink."

Skye smiled. "SHIELD turned out to be a pretty good thing, huh?"

"Yeah," he agreed, feeling the warmth of her smile on his soul. "It really did."

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**Please review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**After this one, we only have five more left in this. Where did all the time go?**

**Also, the relationship between them will be kicking off really soon, and the final ones will hopefully bring out a bunch of cheers.**

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**Winter**

A cold snowy blast of air blew into her face, and Skye squeezed her eyes shut, wincing.

When she'd started the mission, Skye had only known that they were investigating some really weird weather patterns occurring in Berlin. Upon arrival, she and Leo had been sent to investigate a section of the city where the peculiar weather seemed to originate. He had gone into a small shop to get sandwiches while she kept watch outside for anything out of the ordinary.

When the wind had begun to pick up and the sky darkened rapidly, Skye made the stupid decision to take off and go investigate the building down the road where the clouds had first darkened. Minutes later, she went inside of the abandoned apartment complex to discover a device similar to the one built by Seth and Donnie at the Academy residing in the first room on her right. However, Skye didn't need to be a genius to see that something was going wrong with it, considering the flashing of lights and the shaking of the room it was in. Just as she had turned to run, she heard a boom. A blast knocked her out of the door and onto the street. The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was feeling something cool fluttering down on her arm.

She didn't know how long she had been out for, but when she came to, Skye founded herself covered in a blanket of cold snow. Shivering, she'd gotten up. While she'd been out, the world had turned into a think, wintry blizzard uncharacteristic for April. Everything around her was covered in snow, and it piled up unnaturally fast. Her clothes were more suited for spring than winter, and soon she started shivering. It was impossible to see where she was, and even harder to find her way to a building with the drifting snow opposing her every step.

"Help!" Skye screamed, coughing as the icy air stung her mouth. "Is anybody out there?"

The only answer she received was the howling of the wind. Her fingers were beginning to feel numb.

"S-s-s-s-someb-b-b-b-body?" she chattered. "Help me!"

She stumbled and collapsed into the snow with her next step. She was going to die out here. No one was coming…

"Skye!"

Skye turned her head sluggishly through the snow to see a figure coming toward her. They were bundled in an oversized brown coat and multicolored scarf. She was so cold that she barely registered them picking her up. With a shudder, Skye curled up and clung tight to the coat of the mystery rescuer as they began to walk. She lost track of time, but all of a sudden the cold snow and air disappeared and were replaced by a warm, well lighted shop interior. Her head lifted up to look at her rescuer.

"L-l-l-l-leo?"

"Skye!" Leo looked relieved as a tall German lady came into view and wrapped her in a shawl. "Do you have anything to warm her up?"

"Ya," the woman nodded. "Kaffe?"

"G-g-g-good." Skye's teeth still chattered a little, and she held the shawl tighter around herself as Leo returned the coat and scarf to the woman. He then moved over to her and hugged her.

"There was a huge boom, and then all this snow started coming down," Leo babbled frantically. "Helga told me to stay inside, but when I said that you might be out there, she gave me her coat and told me to hurry. God Skye, I was scared that I wouldn't be able to find you in time. Your lips were turning blue when I found you on the ground. Please don't do this to me again Skye, okay? I don't want to lose you."

Skye gave a weak smile as they broke away. She hadn't meant to scare him, and she felt terrible about leaving him to go investigate now.

"I won't, Leo," she told him as Helga returned with the coffee and Leo paid her. "I promise you, I won't ever leave you again."

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**Please review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Biospecialist fans will be fangirling over this one. And for those who are wondering when the two idiots will admit they love each other, you'll get it coming very very soon. But for now, enjoy and fangirl!**

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**Diamond**

"Do you think she'll like this one?" Ward asked, pointing at a silver band with three diamonds that sparkled in the light of the display case. "Or should I get the one with the ruby in the center?"

Leo groaned and buried his head in his hands. Yesterday, Ward had approached him and asked for his help regarding something important. He hadn't counted on that something being the specialist's plans to propose to Simmons. Sure, Leo was happy for his friends, but Ward's inability to make up his mind on which ring to get his girlfriend was driving him nuts.

"She's your girlfriend, not mine," grumbled Leo. "Why couldn't you get Trip to come with you? Or even Skye? She'd be better at this sort of thing."

"You're Jemma's best friend," Ward replied as he scanned the rows of engagement rings. "Also, I doubt that Skye would be able to keep quiet about this, and she'd tell you anyway."

"Hey, she can keep a secret!" Leo snarled, defending his crush. But over the course of the year, his feelings for Skye had grown a lot stronger and it wasn't just a little crush anymore. They'd grown closer, and he couldn't stop falling in love with her.

"Are you ever going to admit that your feelings for her? Or even tell her that you like her?"

Leo froze, caught off guard by Ward's question.

"What? Feelings for her?" he sputtered weakly. "M-me and Skye? It couldn't…she's just…she's just a friend, okay?"

"Are you sure about that?" Ward crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. "You can tell me if I'm right about you two."

With a sigh, Leo ran a hand through his curls. It was useless to argue otherwise. He'd only end up babbling and reveal his love for Skye anyway. Plus, Ward seemed to already know, although Leo wasn't sure how.

"When she first came onto the plane, I really did have a massive crush on her," he confessed. "I thought it would fade over time, but it didn't. It did the opposite actually. We got closer and became really, really good friends, saved each other's lives a few times, and after everything…I love her."

The last three words that slipped from his mouth before Leo could stop them. Ward smothered a grin.

"I don't know if she feels the same way I do though," he admitted with a sigh.

Ward smirked. "I think she does."

Leo felt every cell in his body suddenly snap to attention as he listened to the specialist.

"You mean a lot to her, Fitz," Ward continued. "That mission you went on with May and Trip really shook her up. When you guys didn't call in, she got frantic and lashed out at me and Jemma when we tried to calm her down. Eventually, she told us, and I quote, 'I don't want to lose him. I can't lose him'. If you ask me, then I can definitely say she cares a lot for you."

Leo blushed and looked down at the rings in the case while Ward finally went to go ask for help from someone who actually understood jewelry. One ring, silver with a single, brilliant diamond framed by a Celtic knot pattern on either side of the band, caught his attention. In his mind's eye, he envisioned that ring resting on Skye's finger. It was a lofty dream, but just the thought of it alone filled his heart with warmth and happiness.

"I'm going to ask her out," he promised himself.

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**Well, whatcha think?**

**Please review!**


	27. Chapter 27

**I liked this prompt a lot. It was a fun one to do.**

**Tomorrow, everybody is going to be cheering!**

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**Letters**

Dear Leo,

You know how there's this thing where you write a letter to someone so you can get out all the anger you have pent up against them. It does work (I know because I wrote one to Miles after the incident. I swore a lot in it and even though I burned it, I felt better afterwards), but this time it isn't. I know because this is the twelfth one of these that I've written to you in the past year. They're all in a little folder under my mattress because I just can't destroy them.

But I'm not writing this because I'm upset with you. It's more like I'm upset with myself. I'm in love with you, Leo. And I'm mad because I don't know how to tell you.

Up until I came onto the team, I had no one but Rising Tide and a garbage boyfriend. I was selfish, wanting to get in SHIELD because just so I could find my parents. All I even knew about SHIELD was that they covered stuff up that people deserved to know about. I hated secrets because my entire life was a big one that I could not figure out. Then I got busted in the middle of my broadcast, and you know the rest of the story. Or at least some of it.

The truth is I fell for you immediately. For the first time in my life, I realized that what I felt for you, all those feelings I was experiencing, was actually love. You've always been there for me, Leo. Even when I don't deserve it, you are still there. You've made me laugh, showed me amazing things, but one thing I really love about you (aside from your eyes and your ability to understand me) is that you always have a shoulder free for me. When I was having a panic attack, you didn't run away or judge me. You came into the van and calmed me down. All the times I've doubted myself, you built me back up.

When Quinn shot me, I was scared of a lot of things. The big one was death, but I was terrified that he was going to kill you next. The last thing I remember before I lost consciousness was hoping-praying-that you were safe. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in the med pod with you sitting beside me and the entire team crowded around the bed.

Simmons told me later how you went in with Coulson and Ward and Ward's SO to go get the GH-325 to save me. Then a few months later, you come and save me again, except I almost froze to death that time. I don't think I'll ever forget the four hours we spent with Helga inside her shop while we waited for the storm to blow over.

I guess what I'm trying to say through all my rambling is that you're really important to me, Leo. I want you to know this because I love you. I love everything about you. Your brains, your smiel, your eyes, your personality, your love of Doctor Who. There is nothing that is more perfect to me than the things that make you up.

This is probably going to go with the rest of the letters in the folder. But one day, I'm going to ask you out. I would try today, but yesterday you and Simmons went off to that conference to speak and I won't see you for a while. I don't know if you feel the same way I do, but I want to still give it a shot. Just gotta hope that nothing can cut it short. Hopefully the world can take a break from the usual craziness so that we can go out for dinner or a movie sometime.

Love,

Skye

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**Ta-da!**

**Please review!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Promise**

Leo took a deep breath as he stood on the balcony above the cargo bay. Down below, Ward was welcoming his fiancée back with a rather passionate kiss. He and Simmons had finally gotten engaged a few days before she'd gone with Leo to a conference they'd been invited to speak at. The event has lasted for five days, and in that time he'd only been able to make three phone calls to Skye due to a busy schedule. Leo had missed her like crazy, and he couldn't wait to find her.

He'd barely been able to make it to the bunks when someone squealed loudly. Turning in the direction of the squeal, Leo yelped as someone tackled him.

"You're back!" Skye laughed as they fell to the ground together. "Sorry, I'm just so happy to see you. I've missed you so much, Leo."

She hugged him tightly, and Leo grinned.

"Didn't I promise you I'd always come back," he chuckled as he returned the embrace. Her hair tickled his nose, and the faint scent of her shampoo filled his nostrils. "And I keep my promises, especially if they're with you."

Skye laughed again and blushed. "You're being adorable again. You have no idea how much I've missed that."

Now it was his turn to blush. "Thanks," he replied. "I've got a question for you."

"Uh-huh," Skye crossed her legs and looked at him expectantly. "What is it?"

"So I like to keep my promises, because that's a good thing to do and I want to be a good person so I always try to do it," he rambled for a moment before stopping and composing himself. "Anyway, I made a promise to myself a while ago, and I haven't done anything about it for a long time. I can easily blame Ward and Simmons getting engaged, but I want to ask you something I've wanted to ask you since I got to know you, Skye."

"And what's that?"

Leo took a deep breath, steeling himself for the possibility of rejection. "Do you want to go out with me? On a date?"

Skye straightened up, caught off guard by the question. Leo watched her anxiously, wondering how she was going to react. Had he been too forward with her? Was he too late?

But Skye smiled that smile of hers that made him feel happy and warm. Her eyes were shining with happiness. "I never thought you would ask," she murmured, awestruck. "I'd love to, Leo."

He gave a smile of his own to her. He'd never been happier about keeping his promises.


	29. Chapter 29

**One more day. That's all that will be left. Tomorrow is the final one. I can't believe it's gone by so fast! Hope you all enjoy today.**

**Mentions of Philinda and Biospecialist.**

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**Simple**

For as long as she could remember, Skye had only had the simple, basic necessities. She'd grown up with food and water and shelter that were able to satisfy her needs. Her want for a family, however, had taken a lot longer to fulfill (twenty-four years, to be exact). She'd found her parents through a complicated mess of events. Now, after they were deciding to remarry, Skye wanted to make something special, yet simple, for the private party being thrown in celebration of the engagement.

Something like chocolate chip cookies.

When she was eleven, one foster mother had taught her how to bake cookies. They'd used the recipe off the back of the bag of chocolate chips, and Skye remembered sneaking bits of the dough until she was told they wouldn't have enough to bake the cookies if she didn't stop eating it. She's sat in front of the oven while they baked, and burned her tongue when she grabbed one fresh off the pan when they first came out.

The timer rang, pulling her out of her thoughts and back to reality. Skye whirled around and opened the oven door. As she pulled out the tray and set it on top of the stove to cool, a scraping noise came from behind her. Peering over her shoulder, Skye rolled her eyes at Leo, who was pulling a spoon from his mouth. A blob of dough that had been hanging on the side of the bowl was now missing, and had most likely gone into his mouth.

"Good dough," he told her after swallowing. "What are the cookies for?"

"Mom and Dad's party," Skye slapped his hand as he tried to take another spoonful. "Where you can have them there."

Leo pouted. "Just one cookie?" he asked, moving close beside her.

She shook her head. "Even my boyfriend is going to have to wait."

"Are you sure about that?" Leo held up one of the hot cookies in front of her and took a bite. He had reached to the tray behind them and grabbing it while he was talking.

"Distracting me? Really?" Skye raised her eyebrow. There was a little smear of chocolate at the corner of his mouth, and it was becoming very distracting. But it also gave her an idea. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I can play that game."

With that, she leaned in and kissed him. She could taste the chocolate on his lips and the sweetness of the cookie came through in there too. His arm curled around her waist and she pressed closer to him, deepening the kiss.

"Seriously?"

Skye froze and broke away from Leo's lips. The two looked at the doorway to the kitchen. Ward and Simmons were standing in there. The specialist was giving them a stony look, arms crossed over his chest. His fiancée looked somewhere between pleased and disturbed.

"We eat in here," he grumbled before turning around and leaving. Simmons followed after him.

"Yeah, and we sit on that couch!" Skye called out as the couple left.

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**Awww**

**Please review, and see you all tomorrow!**


	30. Chapter 30

**This is it. We're here at the end, and I can't believe I've done this! I'm so proud of myself for finishing this.**

**I want to thank everyone who had favorited/followed/reviewed/read this. All of you are wonderful and awesome people, and if you don't ship SKitz, thank you for reading this! I hope I've given you all a happy ending!**

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**Future**

Leo Fitz had been preparing for this day for a long time. Everything had been planned out. It had been checked, double-checked, and triple-checked. Grant and Coulson had given him enough pep talks, along with warnings, to help settle him down. Standing up at the altar, he prayed that everything would go off without a hitch, and nothing would go terribly wrong.

The music started, and everybody looked toward the doors. Leo lifted his head up, and felt all the air leave his lungs at the sight ahead of him. He saw Coulson, slightly red-eyed, but Leo's attention was mainly focused on the person beside him. He hadn't seen her all day, thanks to the age-old tradition that everyone had made sure was upheld.

Jemma had told him a while back that Skye's dress was amazing, and in his eyes, it looked like the dress was destined for her. It was strapless, with a wide skirt that brushed against the flower petals on the aisle.

"She's messin' up my flowers!" a small voice cried out. Leo turned and grinned at the sight of May picking up Sophia, Jemma and Grant's two year old daughter, and placing her back in her seat. He chuckled silently and turned his attention back up front, where Skye was taking her position across from him. Once they were all set, the minister began to speak. "We are gathered here today…"

As the ceremony progressed, Leo found himself thinking a lot about Skye. The day he meet her for the first time, and the awkward flirting that had occurred then. Doctor Who marathons. The snowfall in Norway, and the rescue in Berlin. The time he thought he was going to lose her, and the time she was afraid that he wasn't going to come back. The dates they'd been on. All the things they'd done together, and what was to come in the future.

Then it was time for the vows, and Leo drew out a piece of folded up paper from his pocket. He swallowed and looked up at Skye.

"Skye, when I first joined the team, I expected to hate every moment of it," he confessed. "I was only going because Jemma wanted to, and there was an opening for an engineer. And then you came onto the plane, and you got Grant to say Gramsy, and that's when I knew I was in love with you."

A ripple of laughter came from the congregation. Leo noticed that Grant, his best man, was looking down, embarrassed.

"I'm so glad I came on the team, because that's how I met you, and how I feel in love with you. All the things we've done together, and all the things to come, those are my best memories. Finding out that you felt the same way about me as I did for you is one of the best ones. When you said yes is another, and today is going down with those too. You are the most amazing, beautiful, kind, smart, brilliant woman I've ever met, and I love you. I love you so much."

A chorus of soft aww's went up. Jemma was wiping her eyes and beaming proudly at the two of them. Skye's hand went over her mouth and even though he couldn't see her mouth, her cheeks pushed up enough to let him know she was smiling. It was her turn now.

"I know that you know this, Leo," Skye said, wiping her finger under her eye. "But you are the only man who can make me cry because you are so sweet and kind and loving. I've been alone for most of my life. But for as long as I've known you, you've always been there for me. You were there in Norway. You were there at the bridge. You were there for me in the SUV, when I became an agent, when I was about to freeze in Berlin. Whenever I was alone and needed someone, you were always there. I came onto the team to search for my family. And while I found them, finding the man who I love to the ends of the earth and beyond would have been just enough too."

Leo nodded, trying not to cry, but he was failing. Everybody in the room was displaying some degree of emotion from Skye's speech. His mother was nodding proudly while dabbing her eyes with a tissue. The minister had to blow his nose before he could continue with the ceremony.

They exchanged the rings, and then it was time.

"Do you, Leopold Robert Fitz, take this woman to be your wife, 'til death do you part?"

"I do."

"And do you, Skye Amelia Margaret May-Coulson, take this man to be your husband, 'til death do you part?"

"Yes," Skye nodded vigorously. "I do."

The minister smiled. "Then I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

As their lips met, everything else around Leo faded into the background. He could catch traces of things happening around him out before he closed his eyes. Grant and Jemma were holding Sophia and smiling in approval at them. May and Coulson were going over to his mother. But they weren't his primary focus. That belonged to the love of his life, and they were finally married.

It had been a long journey for the both of them. Their path had begun simply, with both of them afraid to admit their feelings for the other because they were thought to be one-sided. But over time, they'd grow closer and more confident. Now, here they were at their happy ending, their paths combined, ready to embark on the next chapter of their lives together.

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**The End**

**Once again, thank you all so much! ****Please leave a final review!**


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